Luka's Love

Madison
Being in the spotlight isn’t my idea of a good time.
In fact, I do my best to stay out of it at all costs.
But when my family needs me to help save their company, I’m thrust into the spotlight of an arranged marriage with the son of our rival.
I always thought I’d marry for love.
But marrying for the love of my family is kind of the same thing.
Right?

Lukas
I fell for her before I had any idea who she was.
In my mind, I claimed her the first time I laid eyes on her. I don’t care if she’s promised to another—my brother
Because she’s supposed to be mine.
I saw her first.
There’s a merger on the cards. One that joins the power of my family with another.
Sure, I arranged for her to marry my brother. But since this marriage is my idea, there’s nothing preventing me from stepping in and marrying her myself.
I never thought I’d marry at all.
Turns out, I’ll do anything for the woman I love.

**Please note Lukas' Love was previously published as Lukas' Angel by Loni Ree, it contains some new content and has been re-edited.**

“Fuck. Taking care of my idiot brothers and this place is driving me insane. How the hell am I gonna babysit Useless Steele, too?” Gramps shakes his head and drops onto my sofa while I complain about this stupid fucking merger.
“The boy has a name other than Useless, and you’ll come out of this with a position on the Board of Directors for Steele Co. Consulting and a beautiful wife.” After picking up his drink and pointing at the tall building that can be seen out my high-rise window, he arches his eyebrows.
“The board position sounds good. I’ll pass on the wife.” As the words leave my mouth, Marta, my pain in the ass assistant, comes gliding in the door.
“Wife? Are you getting married, darling?” Her eyes turn glacial, and the urge to strangle her for the hundredth time today courses through my body. I ended our short-lived affair a few days ago, but she isn’t getting the message.
“This is a private conversation. We don’t need anything at the moment.” Gramps George arches his eyebrow as he glares at her.
She looks between the two of us for a few seconds before turning and grabbing the door handle. “Buzz if you need anything, Lukas.”
“Mark my words, that vulture is going to cause problems. Now, the merger is a done deal. Let’s get lunch.” After rolling my eyes at him, we ignore Marta on the way out and take my brothers, Brayden and Nikolas, out for lunch.
For the past eight years, I’ve been responsible for my brothers and Sterling-Ryan, ever since my parents, Lawrence and Michelle Ryan, were killed in a plane crash on their way to celebrate their thirtieth anniversary in Tahiti. My grandfather, Gramps George, has helped, but pushing my brothers to succeed and maintaining Sterling-Ryan’s success are two things I owe my parents. Two years before Mom and Dad died, Gramps George retired from Sterling-Ryan after working hard for many years. He and my grandmother created Sterling-Ryan and built it into the multi-billion-dollar company it is today. After taking over at the helm, I expected each of my brothers to take a small role in running our family company, and I work hard to keep control of the chaos.
Despite me telling Gramps George a partnership with the Steele family would be a mistake, he agreed to help them anyway. My plate is already overflowing with our own problems. Now, I'm being forced to babysit fucking Steele Co. for Drew and Bradley Steele because Gramps is sentimental. He went to college with Christopher Steele, the former CEO of Steele Co. Consulting. After Christopher and his son, Christopher II, died in an accident, their business nearly fell apart.
Christopher's remaining son, Useless, I mean Bradley, knows jack shit about business. After such a short time, he’s already fucking drowning. He's a teacher, for God's sake. Christopher Steele's younger brother, Drew, who owns DRS Security, Inc., a large security firm, asked Gramps George to arrange a partnership of sorts between our two companies. The agreement states that, in exchange for a significant portion of Steele Co. shares, we will step in and lend our expertise to stabilize Steele Co. until Bradley is ready to take the reins fully. My position on the Board of Directors will protect our interests while allowing me to keep an eye on young Bradley Steele in the future.